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bookplates

Reginald Nankivell’s first job after leaving school in Christchurch was as a bookbinder, a passion for which he never lost. Progressively, as he polished himself from plain ‘Reginald’, into the stylish art dealer and debonair collector Rex (later Sir Rex) de Charembac Nan Kivell, he lavished great attention on his acquisitions, commissioning beautiful and durable bindings and housings for his many books and manuscripts. Whenever I call up such an item from Nan Kivell's collection, I eagerly anticipate the clamshell box or fancy binding he has fashioned for it. Rarely am I disappointed.